Turkey seeks Interpol red notice for Benjamin Netanyahu; Israel lashes out at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Turkey has initiated a procedure to request an Interpol red notice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several others over the interception of the humanitarian flotilla "Global Sumud," prompting a sharp response from Netanyahu's office.

Reactions and legal steps

In a strongly worded statement, the office of Benjamin Netanyahu attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and defended Israel's position on the incident. "Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator who massacres Kurds, who expressed support for the massacre by the terrorist organization Hamas and who oppresses his own people," the office said.

The Israeli statement also warned that Israel would act against "attempts by Turkey to destabilize the region."

According to Ankara, the request for an international arrest notice has already been forwarded to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which must complete the procedural steps with Interpol. Alongside Netanyahu, Turkish authorities are seeking a notice for an Israeli national identified as Afek Moscovich in connection with the same incident.

Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gjurlek wrote on the social platform X that the red-notice request was submitted in line with arrest warrants issued by Turkish authorities on July 14 this year. He said Netanyahu and Moscovich are accused of multiple serious crimes, including "genocide", "crimes against humanity", "torture", "intentional infliction of bodily harm", "unlawful deprivation of liberty", "kidnapping of vehicles", "aggravated theft" and "damage to property".

The interception of the humanitarian flotilla Global Sumud took place in May amid heightened tensions over deliveries of aid to the Gaza Strip; the flotilla's organizers said their aim was to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis and to challenge Israel's maritime blockade.

Photo: press material from the event